Lubricating method and apparatus for a circular knitting machine

Abstract: A lubricating method and apparatus for a circular knitting machine involves inputting operating conditions for the circular knitting machine from an operating conditions input device 30, after which a pump 12 spray quantity per spray is computed by a spray quantity computing device 33 and set in a spray quantity setting device 21, a pump 12 spray velocity per spray quantity is computed by a spray velocity computing device 34 and set in a spray velocity setting device 22, and an intermittent pump 12 operating period is computed by an intermittent period computing device 35 and set in an intermittent period setting device 24. Subsequently, a start signal is sent from a start signal sending device 25 for each set intermittent period, and a pump drive device 23 drives the pump 12. As a result an appropriate quantity of lubricating oil is sprayed from a nozzle 13 towards a cam groove 4 of a cam 5 for a duration of at least one revolution of a row of needles 1 of the circular knitting machine. Wastage of lubricating oil can thus be reduced to an insignificant amount, and the lubricating oil can be spread uniformly to all required locations without lubricating oil contamination of the surroundings, thereby preventing nonuniform lubrication and ensuring machine durability.

Description: Background of the Invention Field of the Invention This invention relates to a lubricating method and apparatus for a circular knitting machine for knitting articles such as underwear and socks by moving a plurality of needles arranged in a row around a periphery thereof back and forth with rotation of the row. Description of the Prior Art In general, a circular knitting machine such as shown for example in Fig. 5 through Fig. 7, comprises a plurality of needles 1 arranged in a row around a periphery of the machine, a rotating shaft 2 provided interior of the row of needles which is rotated in engagement with the needles 1 so as to allow back and forth movement of the needles 1 while rotating the row around the periphery, a drum shaped cam 5 provided around the row of needles and having a cam groove 4 which engages with projections 3 protruding from the needles 1 so as to move the needles 1 back and forth when the row of needles rotates, and a cam holder 6 provided around the cam 5 so as to fixedly hold the cam 5. With such an arrangement, the plurality of needles 1 arranged in a row around a periphery of the machine are moved back and forth with rotation of the row so that threads 8a supplied from a thread supply source 8 mounted above a base 7 are knitted to give a tubular shaped circular knitted article 9 which is discharged from a central region 2a of the rotating shaft 2. Conventionally, lubrication of such a circular knitting machine involves for example a method wherein lubricating oil is continuously supplied in the form of a mist to the cam groove 4 of the cam 5. The abovementioned conventional mist lubricating method for a circular knitting machine, while having good lubrication performance, has a drawback in that practically all of the lubricating oil is scattered away from the lubrication location. Hence not only is there the undesirable effect of excessive lubricant wastage, but also there are environmental pollution problems such as damage to the product, and contamination of the surroundings due to the dispersed mist. Moreover, since a compressor is necessary to supply compressed air for creating the mist, then that alone increases equipment cost resulting in the problem of increased overall costs. A method for solving the abovementioned problems involves providing a nozzle in the cam holder 6 for squirting lubricating oil into the cam groove 4 of the cam 5, the lubricating oil being supplied intermittently from the nozzle. Although the intermittent oil supply reduces wastage of the lubricating oil, there is a problem in that the lubricating oil is not spread to all of the plurality of projections 3 on the needles 1 passing around inside the cam groove 4. This results in nonuniform lubrication of the parts so that the machine becomes susceptible to failure such as seizing, and durability is reduced. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a lubricating method and apparatus for a circular knitting machine which can reduce wastage of lubricating oil to an insignificant amount, and which can spread the lubricating oil uniformly to all required locations without lubricating oil contamination of the surroundings, thereby preventing nonuniform lubrication and ensuring machine durability. In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the lubricating method for a circular knitting machine according to the present invention comprises squirting lubricating oil into a cam groove of a cam of the circular knitting machine to thereby uniformly lubricate the engaging parts, the lubricating oil being squirted intermittently for a duration of at least one revolution of the row of needles. The lubrication apparatus for the circular knitting machine according to the present invention comprises, a nozzle provided on the cam holder for squirting lubricating oil into the cam groove of the cam, a pump for supplying lubricating oil to the nozzle, and a drive control section for intermittent drive control of the pump so as to squirt lubricating oil from the nozzle for a duration of at least one revolution of the row of needles and uniformly lubricate said engaging parts. The drive control section effectively comprises, a squirt quantity setting device for setting a pump squirt quantity per squirt, a squirt velocity setting device for setting a pump squirt velocity per one squirt quantity set by the squirt quantity setting device, a pump drive device for driving the pump so as to start at the time of a start signal, stop at the time of a stop signal, and so as to adjust the beforementioned set squirt quantity and squirt velocity, an intermittent period setting device for setting an intermittent pump operating period, a start signal sending device for sending a start signal for each intermittent period, and a stop signal sending device for sending a stop signal after completion of one squirt. Furthermore, the drive control section effectively comprises, an operating conditions input device for inputting operating conditions of the circular knitting machine, a squirt quantity computing device for computing squirt quantity per one squirt on the basis of the operating conditions input to the operating conditions input device, the pump squirt quantity per one squirt for setting in the squirt quantity setting device, a squirt velocity computing device for computing a squirt velocity per one squirt quantity on the basis of the operating conditions input to the operating conditions input device, which is setting in the squirt velocity setting device, and an intermittent period computing device for computing an intermittent period on the basis of the operating conditions input to the operating conditions input device and setting in the intermittent period setting device. Moreover, the drive control section effectively comprises, a rotational speed detection device for detecting a rotational speed of the row of needles in a circular knitting machine, and a squirt velocity computing device for computing a squirt velocity of pump per one squirt quantity on the basis of the rotational speed detected by the rotational speed detection device, which is setting in the squirt velocity setting device. In addition, the drive control section effectively comprises, a pump drive device for driving the pump so as to start at the time of a start signal and stop at the time of a stop signal, an intermittent period setting device for setting an intermittent pump operating period, a start signal sending device for sending a start signal for each intermittent period, a rotation position detection device for detecting a rotation position of the row of needles, and a stop signal sending device for sending a stop signal on the basis of the position information detected by the rotation position detection device. With such a device, lubricating oil is squirted into the cam groove for a duration of at least one revolution of the row of needles, so that the lubricating oil is supplied to all of the plurality of projections on the needles passing around inside the peripheral cam groove. Consequently the lubricating oil is well spread, and the condition of nonuniform lubrication is prevented. Furthermore, when the squirt quantity, squirt velocity and intermittent period are set by the drive control section, the pump drive device drives the pump automatically so as to give the set squirt quantity and squirt velocity. Consequently the lubricating oil can be reliably supplied to the cam groove. Moreover, when the circular knitting machine operating conditions are input and the squirt quantity, squirt velocity, and intermittent period are computed, then appropriate lubrication to suit the circular knitting machine operating conditions is automatically carried out. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a lubricating apparatus for a circular knitting machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 shows an external view of the lubricating apparatus for the circular knitting machine according to the first embodiment. Fig. 3 shows a schematic diagram of a lubricating apparatus for a circular knitting machine according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 4 shows a schematic diagram of a lubricating apparatus for a circular knitting machine according to a third embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 5 shows a perspective view of an example of a circular knitting machine to which the embodiments of the present invention are applicable. Fig. 6 shows a longitudinal sectional view of a part of the circular knitting machine to which the embodiments of the present invention are applicable. Fig. 7 shows a transverse sectional view of a part of the circular knitting machine to which the embodiments of the present invention are applicable. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The following is a description of lubricating methods and apparatus for a circular knitting machine according to the present invention, based on the accompanying drawings. The methods for lubricating a circular knitting machine are effected by the lubricating apparatus for the circular knitting machine in accordance with the embodiments. A circular knitting machine which utilizes the lubrication apparatus of the present embodiments comprises, as described above and shown in Fig. 5 through Fig. 7, a plurality of needles 1 arranged in a row around a periphery of the machine, a spline shaped rotating shaft 2 provided interior of the row of needles which is rotated in engagement with the needles 1 so as to allow back and forth movement of the needles 1 while rotating the row around the periphery, a drum shaped cam 5 provided around the row of needles and having a cam groove 4 which engages with projections 3 protruding from the needles 1 so as to move the needles 1 back and forth when the row of needles rotates, and a cam holder 6 provided around the cam 5 so as to fixedly hold the cam 5. With such an arrangement, the plurality of needles 1 arranged in a row around a periphery of the machine are moved back and forth with rotation of the row so that threads 8a supplied from a thread supply source 8 mounted above a base 7 are knitted to form a tubular shaped circular knitted article 9 which is discharged from a central hollow region 2a of the rotating shaft 2. Such an arrangement may comprise a single cam groove 4. Alternatively several cam grooves 4 may be provided to give the projections 3 a different movement for each revolution. Figs. 1 and 2 illustrate a lubricating apparatus according to a first embodiment. The lubricating apparatus comprises, a tank 11 for storing lubricating oil, and pumps 12 for pumping the lubricating oil from the tank 11. The pumps 12 comprise for example a motor driven plunger pump of a type which gives variable squirt quantity and squirt velocity. The plurality of pumps 12 (6 units for the present embodiment) are provided in a row. Each pump 12 is adapted for connection to a nozzle 13 by way of a pipe, the nozzle 13 being mounted in the cam holder 6 so as to squirt lubricating oil into the cam groove 4 of the cam 5. The nozzles 13 are arranged for example with one nozzle for each cam groove 4 so that several nozzles 13 are provided for several cam grooves 4 of the cam 5 of the circular knitting machine with each connected to a different pump 12. With the present embodiment, up to six nozzles 13 can be fitted. The pumps 12 are supported on a control case 14 which is mounted on top of the tank 11. Numeral 20 indicates a drive control section for the pumps 12, provided in the control case 14. The drive control section 20 provides intermittent drive control of the pump 12, so that lubricating oil is squirted from the nozzle 13 for a duration of at least one revolution of the row of needles. More specifically, as shown in Fig. 1, the drive control section 20 comprises, a squirt quantity setting device 21 for setting the squirt quantity of pump 12 per one squirt, a squirt velocity setting device 22 for setting the squirt velocity of pump 12 per one squirt quantity set by the squirt quantity setting device 21, a pump drive device 23 incorporating for example a motor, for driving the pump 12 so as to start at the time of a start signal, stop at the time of a stop signal, and so as to give the aforementioned set squirt quantity and squirt velocity, an intermittent period setting device 24 for setting an operating period of intermittent pump 12, a start signal sending device 25 for sending a start signal for each intermittent period, and a stop signal sending device 26 for sending a stop signal after completion of one squirt. The drive control section 20 further comprises, an operating conditions input device 30 for inputting operating conditions of the circular knitting machine. The operating conditions input device 30, as shown in Fig. 1 is provided on the front fact of the control case 14, and comprises input keys 31 for inputting the rotation speed of the rotating shaft 2 and a diameter of the circular knitting machine, and a display section 32 similarly provided on the front face of the control case 14 for displaying the input items as they are input by the input keys 31. Moreover, the drive control section 20, as shown in Fig. 1 comprises a squirt quantity computing device 33 for computing the squirt quantity of the pump 12 per one squirt which is set in the squirt quantity setting device 21, on the basis of the operating conditions input to the operating conditions input device 30, a squirt velocity computing device 34 for computing on the basis of the operating conditions input to the operating conditions input device 30, the pump 12 squirt velocity per squirt quantity for setting in the squirt velocity setting device 22, and an intermittent period computing device 35 for computing of the operating period of an intermittent pump 12 which is set in the intermittent period setting device 24, on the basis of the operating conditions input to the operating conditions input device 30. The squirt velocity computing device 34 computes a squirt velocity for the lubricating oil to be squirted from the nozzles 13 for a duration of at least one revolution of the row of needles. The various function of the drive control section 20 as mentioned above are realized by an internal CPU. Consequently, with the circular knitting machine lubricating apparatus according to the present embodiment, the operating conditions of the circular knitting machine, namely the rotation speed of the rotating shaft 2 and a diameter of the circular knitting machine, are preliminary input by the input key 31 in accordance with indications on the display section 32. As a result, an appropriate squirt quantity of pump 12 per one squirt is computed by the squirt quantity computing device 33 and set in the squirt quantity setting device 21. Moreover, a squirt velocity of pump 12 per one squirt quantity is computed by the squirt velocity computing device 34 and set in the squirt velocity setting device 22. Furthermore, an intermittent pump 12 operating period is computed by the intermittent period computing device 35 and set in the intermittent period setting device 24. Subsequently, a start signal is sent from the start signal sending device 25 for each set intermittent period. The pump drive device 23 drives the pump 12 according to the start signal so as to give the above-mentioned set squirt quantity and squirt velocity. Then, on completion of one squirt, a stop signal is sent from the stop signal sending device 26 to stop the pump drive device 23. The pump 12 thus pauses until the next start signal following the intermittent period. When the pump 12 is driven, an appropriate squirt quantity of lubricating oil is discharged from the pump 12 and squirted at a set velocity from the nozzle 13 towards the cam groove 4 of the cam 5. In this case, since the squirt velocity is set so that the lubricating oil is squirted for a duration of at least one revolution of the row of needles, the lubricating oil is supplied to all of the plurality of projections on the needles passing around inside the peripheral cam groove. Consequently, the lubricating oil is well spread and the condition of nonuniform lubrication prevented. Furthermore, since the squirt quantity and intermittent period are appropriately set, lubricating o'il scatter to the surroundings and consequent contamination is stopped, oil wastage becomes practically zero compared to the continuous squirt type lubricating system, and machine durability can be ensured with only a small yet adequate supply of lubricating oil evenly supplied to all the required parts. Moreover, since the circular knitting machine driving conditions are input, and the squirt quantity, squirt velocity, and intermittent period are computed and set, then appropriate lubrication to suit the circular knitting machine driving conditions is automatically carried out, with the lubricating oil being reliably supplied to the cam groove 4. Fig. 3 shows a lubrication apparatus for a circular knitting machine according to a second embodiment. The second embodiment is equipped with a pump 12 and nozzle 13 in a similar manner to the above. The drive control section 40 of the pump 12 provides intermittent drive control of the pump 12, so that lubricating oil is squirted from the nozzle 13 for a duration of at least one revolution of the row of needles. More specifically, as shown in Fig. 3, the drive control section 40 comprises, a squirt quantity setting device 41 for setting the squirt quantity of pump 12 per one squirt, a squirt velocity setting device 42 for setting the squirt velocity of the pump 12 per one squirt quantity set by the squirt quantity setting device 41, a pump drive device 43 incorporating for example a motor, for driving the pump 12 so as to start at the time of a start signal, stop at the time of a stop signal, and so as to give the aforementioned set squirt quantity and squirt velocity, an intermittent period setting device 44 for manually setting an intermittent operating period of pump 12, a start signal sending device 45 for sending a start signal for each intermittent period, and a stop signal sending device 46 for sending a stop signal after completion of one squirt. Moreover, the drive control section 40 comprises, a rotational speed detection device 47 for detecting the rotational speed of the row of needles, and squirt velocity computing device 48 for computing a squirt velocity of pump 12 per one squirt quantity on the basis of the rotational speed detected by the rotational speed detection device 47, a squirt velocity of pump 12 per one squirt quantity which is set in the squirt velocity setting device 42. The squirt velocity computing device 48 computes a squirt velocity so that for example, when the detected rotational speed is 10 rpm, the lubricating oil is squirted for 10 seconds during one revolution of the needle row. As a result, with the second embodiment also, the lubricating oil is supplied to all the plurality of projections 3 on the needles 1 passing around inside the peripheral cam groove 4. Consequently the lubricating oil is well spread, and the condition of nonuniform lubrication is prevented. In this case, since the rotational speed is actually measured so as to compute the squirt velocity, then even if the rotational speed of the rotating shaft 2 becomes different, this can be automatically accommodated without requiring manual setting and correction, so that with this alone efficiency is improved. Fig. 4 shows a lubrication apparatus for a circular knitting machine according to a third embodiment. The third embodiment is equipped with a pump 12 and nozzle 13 in a similar manner to the above. The drive control section 50 of the pump 12 provides intermittent drive control for the pump 12, so that lubricating oil is squirted from the nozzle 13 for a duration of at least one revolution of the row of needles. More specifically, as shown in Fig. 4, the drive control section 50 comprises, a pump drive device 53 for driving the pump 12 so as to start at the time of a start signal and stop at the time of a stop signal, an intermittent period setting device 54 for setting an intermittent operating period of pump 12, a start signal sending device 55 for sending a start signal for each intermittent period, a rotation position detection device 57 for detecting a rotation position of the row of needles, and a stop signal sending device 56 for sending a stop signal on the basis of the position information detected by the rotation position detection device. The stop signal sending device 56 is set so as to send a stop signal when for example the rotation position at the time of operation of the pump drive device 53 has rotated through 360 degrees. As a result, with the third embodiment also, lubricating oil is squirted from the nozzle 13 for a duration of at least one revolution of the row of needles, so that the lubricating oil is supplied to all the plurality of projections 3 on the needles 1 passing around inside the peripheral cam groove 4. Consequently the lubricating oil is well spread, and the condition of nonuniform lubrication prevented. Moreover, since the rotation position of the rotating shaft is actually measured, then even if the rotational speed of the rotating shaft becomes different, this can be automatically accommodated without requiring manual setting and correction, so that with this alone efficiency is improved. In the above embodiments, the pump 12 is not necessarily a plunger pump but may be any type of pump such as a gear pump. Moreover, the construction of the drive control section also is not limited to the above described construction and may be modified as desired. With the lubricating method and apparatus for a circular knitting'machine according to the present invention as described above, lubricating oil is squirted into the cam groove of the circular knitting machine for a duration of at least one revolution of the row of needles, so that the lubricating oil is supplied to all of the plurality of projections on the needles passing around inside the peripheral cam groove. As a result lubricating oil can be spread uniformly to all required locations without lubricating oil contamination of the surrounding, thereby preventing the occurrence of nonuniform lubrication. Also, due to the intermittent supply, oil wastage becomes practically zero compared to the conditions squirt type lubricating system, and machine durability can be ensured with only a small yet adequate supply of lubricating oil evenly supplied to all the required parts. Furthermore, when the squirt quantity, squirt velocity and intermittent period are set by the drive control section, the pump drive device drives the pump automatically so as to give the set squirt quantity and squirt velocity. Consequently lubricating oil can be reliably supplied to the cam groove. Moreover, when the circular knitting machine operating conditions are input and the squirt quantity, squirt velocity, and intermittent period are computed, then appropriate lubrication to suit the circular knitting machine operating conditions is automatically carried out. Also, when rotational speed is actually measured so as to compute the squirt velocity, then even if the rotational speed of the rotating shaft 2 becomes different this can be automatically accommodated without requiring manual setting correction, so that with this alone efficiency is improved. In addition when the rotation position of the rotating shaft is actually measured, then even if the rotational speed of the rotating shaft 2 becomes different, this can be automatically accommodated without requiring manual setting and correction, so that with this alone efficiency is improved.

Claims: A lubricating method for a circular knitting machine, said knitting machine comprising a plurality of needles (1) arranged in a row around a periphery of the machine, a rotating shaft (2) provided interior of the row of needles which is rotated in engagement with the needles so as to allow back and forth movement of the needles while rotating the row around the periphery, a drum shaped cam (5) provided around the row of needles and having a cam groove (4) which engages with projections (3) protruding from the needles so as to move the needles back and forth when the row of needles rotates, and a cam holder (6) provided around the cam so as to fixedly hold the cam characterised in that, said method comprises squirting lubricating oil into said cam groove of the cam to thereby uniformly lubricate said engaging parts, wherein the lubricating oil is squirted intermittently for a duration of at least one revolution of said row of needles. A lubricating apparatus for a circular knitting machine, said knitting machine comprising a plurality of needles (1) arranged in a row around a periphery of the machine, a rotating shaft (2) provided interior of the row of needles which is rotated in engagement with the needles so as to allow back and forth movement of the needles while rotating the row around the periphery, a drum shaped cam (5) provided around the row of needles and having a cam groove (4) which engages with projection (3) protruding from the needles so as to move the needles back and forth when the row of needles rotates, and a cam holder (6) provided around the cam so as to fixedly hold the cam characterised in that, said apparatus comprises a nozzle (13) provided on the cam holder for squirting lubricating oil into the cam groove (4) of the cam (5), a pump (12) for supplying lubricating oil to the nozzle, and a drive control section (20, 40, 50) for intermittent drive control of the pump so as to squirt lubricating oil from the nozzle for a duration of at least one revolution of the row of needles and uniformly lubricate said engaging parts. A lubricating apparatus for a circular knitting machine as claimed in claim 2, wherein said drive control section comprises, squirt quantity setting means (21, 41) for setting a pump squirt quantity per squirt, squirt velocity setting means (22, 42) for setting a pump squirt velocity per squirt quantity set by the squirt quantity setting means, pump drive means (23, 43, 53) for driving the pump so as to start at the time of a start signal, stop at the time of a stop signal, and so as to give said set squirt quantity and squirt velocity, intermittent period setting means (24, 54) for setting an intermittent pump operating period, start signal sending means (25, 55) for sending a start signal for each intermittent period, and stop signal sending means (26, 56) for sending a stop signal after completion of one squirt. A lubricating apparatus for a circular knitting machine as claimed in claim 3, wherein said drive control section (20, 40, 50) comprises, operating conditions input means (30) for inputting operating conditions of the circular knitting machine, squirt quantity computing means (33) for computing on the basis of the operating conditions input to the operating conditions input means (30), the pump squirt quantity per squirt for setting in the squirt quantity setting means (21), squirt velocity computing means (34, 48) for computing on the basis of the operating conditions input in to the operating conditions input means, the pump squirt velocity per squirt quantity for setting in the squirt velocity setting means (22), and intermittent period computing means (35) for computing on the basis of the operating conditions input to the operating conditions input means (30), an intermittent pump operating period for setting in the intermittent period setting means (24, 44, 54). A lubricating apparatus for a circular knitting machine as claimed in claim 3, wherein said drive control section (20, 40, 50) comprises, rotational speed detection means (57) for detecting a rotational speed of the row of needles, and squirt velocity computing means (34, 48) for computing on the basis of the rotational speed detected by the rotational speed detection means, a pump squirt velocity per squirt quantity for setting in the squirt velocity setting means (22, 42). A lubricating apparatus for a circular knitting machine as claimed in claim 2, wherein said drive control section (20, 40, 50) comprises, pump drive means (23, 43, 53) for driving the pump so as to start at the time of a start signal and stop at the time of a stop signal, intermittent period setting means (24, 44, 54) for setting an intermittent pump operating period, start signal sending means (25, 45, 55) for sending a start signal for each intermittent period, rotation position detection means (37) for detecting a rotation position of the row of needles, and stop signal sending means (26, 46, 56) for sending a stop signal on the basis of the position information detected by the rotation position detection means.

Inventors: UCHIDA KAZUYA, UCHIDA, KAZUYA, UCHIDA, KAZUYA, C/O LUBE CORPORATION
Applicants: LUBE CORP, LUBE CORPORATION
Application year: 1994
Main classification: D04B35
IPC codes: D04B35